Breaking the Ice
by Kittylass
Summary: A "Seven Little Monsters" fanfic. The Monsters get to spend a week at a big, fancy winter resort. All seems to be going well, until one of the monsters wanders onto thin Ice and a life hangs in the balance. Rated T for subject matter surrounding death.


**Don't you hate it when you have something else to write, and in the midst of writing it you get a plot bunny for something else? And that plot bunny is so loud and annoying about being written that you have to get it over with before you can continue what you were originally writing? That was this! I love the story, and I loved writing it, but I hate that it interrupted chapter 2 of my Danny Phantom story. So those of you waiting for that, thank you for your** **patience. It is almost finished. It was just poor timing to start writing it around both finals and the holidays.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story.**

 **I don't own Seven Little Monsters.**

"Look at how snowy it is here!"

"The cabin is huge!"

"I can see the ski lifts! I can't wait to try them out!"

"I can't wait to go sledding!"

"Sledding!"

"Well you can all ski and sled. I'm going to ice skate like a graceful snow princess!"

"I kinda want to try ice skating too."

"Alright bubbalinkas! Listening to me to me you must be doing!" Mom silenced the excited chatter amongst the seven monster siblings. How could they not be excited, though? They were going to spend an entire week at a winter resort! Their mom won them the vacation in a big bowling competition, and they had been thinking about it non-stop ever since.

The cool thing about the winter resort was that it was huge! It spanned from the man-made mountains for skiing off to the far left, to the sled slopes toward the very back of the resort, to the frozen lake on the far right for ice skaters and hockey games. There were also some wintery competitions for those who enjoyed making snow and ice sculptures. All in all, this places was amazing.

The monsters did their best to reign in their excitement to pay attention to their mother. As much fun as this place promised, they didn't want to miss anything important their mother might have to say to them.

"Checking in first we must be doing, and then the fun we will be having. But, this place is huge being. If you are finding yourself lost, going to one of the people in uniforms and helping you they will be doing. Our cabin is 124. Be back before dark, please." She instructed, and all the monsters nodded in agreement. They quickly got checked in, settled in their cabin, and ran off to their respective activities.

-line break-

"-and remember to turn with your shoulders. Turning with your feet is a bad idea, and you can easily fall." The ice skating instructor, Ms. Kendall, told the group of beginners.

Six payed full attention, wanting to understand every aspect of ice skating so she wouldn't mess up and hurt herself. Three payed attention, but wasn't as rapt as Six.

He had read about every book he could about the winter sports that would be involved at the winter resort. Everything from learning how to ice skate to what to do if you're trapped under an avalanche. He couldn't help himself. When he got excited about something, a part of his mind wouldn't rest until he learned all he could about it. That was how he got to know so much about many things, and made all of his personas more believable.

Speaking of personas, he decided to just go as himself for the week. He was tempted to dress up as many things involving winter weather, including but not limited to an Eskimo, an ice sculptor, a professional skier, a professional figure skater, and an ice fisherman. But he decided against all of them. As much fun as it was to dress up as different people every day, every now and then he just wanted to relax and be himself. And that was what he intended to do on this trip: relax and be himself.

"-and one more thing before you all begin. You need to stay away from that area of the lake over there. It has been a warmer winter than usual this year, and the ice is thin over there. Don't worry, if you get too close, my friend, Ms. Randi, over there will direct you back over here where the ice is thick." Ms. Kendall pointed to a short figure in a uniform standing where Three assumed the ice was thick enough to sustain weight. Some kids had gotten too close, and she was pointing them back over to safety.

"Well, that's about it. Remember to come to either me, Ms. Kim, Mr. Aaron at the skate rental shack, or even Ms. Randi if you need anything. But try to find me, Mr. Aaron, or Ms. Kim first. We don't want you getting too close to the thin ice if you don't have to. And don't forget to have fun." Ms. Kendall finished up her speech, and let everyone skate out onto the ice.

Six went over Ms. Kendall's instructions and bent her knees, putting her weight on the balls of her feet. Checking to make sure her shoulders and chest were facing forward, and her arms out for balance, she took small steps with her toes until she stared gliding. Once she got enough momentum, she relaxed some. Sure it was fun to actually ice skate, but it was also a little scary. She was just glad there was someone there to help the beginners.

She turned to look at her brother who looked like he had done this several times before. She realized that he probably had, at least in his mind. She wouldn't doubt that Three had read several things about ice skating in the many books he read. Six hoped she look at least as graceful as he did.

"Whoa, careful. You're getting a bit close to the thin ice." A voice brought her out of her musing, and she realized she had gotten close to Ms. Randi and the thin ice.

"Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about something." Six said going through the motions to stop.

"Don't worry about it, that's why I'm here. Please head back to the safety of the thicker ice." Ms. Randi kindly directed back to where the other skaters were. Six nodded and got back in the ready position. She started back up, and glided over toward the others.

-line break-

"Ha! I win again!" Four cheered as he won the sled race between him, Seven, and Five for the third time in a row.

"Four good at sledding!" Five cheered as he came to a stop.

"You bet I am! Right, Mr. Doug" Four asked as they stepped off to the side to where the worker was.

"You have picked up on it rather quickly." Mr. Doug chuckled.

"I wish there were places like this to sled back home." Seven said getting out of the way so the sledders at the top could go without bumping into anyone.

"Me too! I could win at sledding all day!" Four said as they made their way back to the top for another race.

"Four best sledder!" Five agreed with his older brother.

"I don't care about winning races, I just think it's fun." Seven said. The three brothers chattered away about sledding as they got back in line to participate in yet another race.

-line break-

"Pizza… french-fry… pizza… french-fry…" Two reminded himself over and over as he and One practiced skiing on the green circle slope, the easiest slope of them all. Their skiing instructor, Mr. Thumper, told them to practice this if they didn't want to have a bad time. Two really didn't want to have a bad time, so he kept going over the motions to make sure he got it right.

One was adapting better than Two. She was already the most athletic of their siblings, and she seemed to have a natural talent for learning any sport. She already had the knack of the pizza French-fry method, and was ready for the next part. But she wasn't going start the next lesson without Two.

"Come on, Two. I think you have it by now." One said from further down the slope.

"Not yet, One. I don't want to have a bad time." Two called back before going back to his pizza french-fry mantra.

One rolled har eyes and skied down the rest of the slope and waited for Two to join her at the bottom. The green circle slope, while the lowest and easiest slope, was still kinda long. Not anywhere near as long as the double back diamond slope, the slope for experts, but it was still long. And Two was taking his sweet time just to make sure he didn't mess up. One would have taken the lift back to the top by herself to go again while Two was still going, but she didn't want to wait in line without someone to talk to. She wished that it wasn't too cold for her wings. She had to tuck them inside her coat to keep them warm, so she couldn't fly until she took the coat off. Which meant she was stuck waiting for her brother. She decided to sit down, since it looked like it was going to take a while.

-line break-

"So, were my bubbalinkas fun having today?" Mom asked as the seven monsters bundled up in their cabin drinking hot coco to warm up.

"It was fun, when I wasn't waiting on Two." One said giving her brother a slightly annoyed look.

"Hey, Mr. Thumper made it pretty clear that nobody wants to have a bad time." Two said in his defense.

"I had a blast! I won every sled race! Mr. Doug said I was born to sled!" Four said before he took a sip of hot coco.

"Four sled good!" Five agreed before putting the entire mug in his mouth.

"Fiveling! Cups are not for eating!" Mom chided the blue monster.

"Sowwy Mama." Five said before rolling the cup out of his mouth using his tongue. There wasn't a drop of hot coco left in it.

"Ms. Kendall said that I would make a great figure skater if I got enough practice in." Six cheered looking like someone awarded her with a golden tiara.

"Guess what, Mom! Mr. Doug said that there was going to be a snow sculpting contest Thursday afternoon in the Plaza! Can we go watch?" Seven asked.

"Ooh! That'd be cool to watch!" One agreed, and most of the monsters chattered away about the contest.

"All my Mushkas are wanting to watch the snow sculpting?" Mom asked.

"Not me! I want to keep practicing Ice Skating. I want to get as good as I can possibly get." Six said.

"You don't want to watch? But they're bound to make some cool looking sculptures like a dragon or a shark with claws instead of fins!" Four said.

"Ms. Kendall said that all I need is practice, and that's what I'm going to do." Six said, making it clear that she made up her mind.

"I'll go with her." Three spoke up catching all of them off guard.

"But, I though this contest would be right up your alley, Three. You like watching things like this." One pointed out.

"This is a pretty big place, One. I don't think any of us should be alone." Three said and put his now empty mug down on the table.

"A good big brother you are being, my Threeling." Mom said showing pride in her second oldest son.

"Aw, shucks Mom." Three said looking slightly embarrassed by the small praise.

"Right, you two will go play on the ice, while the rest of us watch the contest." Four said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Alright my kinderlings. It is bed time being, you are all having more fun tomorrow." Mom said catching everyone's attention.

"Yes, Mom." They all chorused before getting up to get ready for bed.

-line break-

Most of the week had been much of the same for the monsters. Two and One continued to work on their skiing, Two finally working past the pizza french-fry method. Four, Five, and Seven kept mostly to sledding, but gave the other two sports a try. Seven kept falling during ice skating so they didn't stay there long. Six spent as much time as she could ice skating. She had started to grow comfortable on the blades, and found herself really beginning to enjoy the sport. Three stayed with her, to make sure she wasn't alone. Also, a part of him was worried about the thin ice, but there was always someone there to guide skaters away from that area. It didn't stop him from worrying though. Then finally, the day of the contest arrived.

-line break-

 _I really hate my boss._

Randi kept the gripe to herself, as she politely showed a little girl and her sister away from the thin ice.

The manager of the winter resort was the owner's daughter, Cloe, and all she seemed to care about was the power she had over the employees. She did things just so she could, and she got away with it because she was daddy's precious angel who could do no wrong. She seemed to have a strong distain for Randi and her friends, in particular, because they were the only ones who tried to speak out about what she was doing. That, of course, led her crying to daddy about the mean, rebellious employees who were trying to get her into trouble. And he took his daughter's word over the loyal employees who were doing what they could to keep the guests happy and safe.

That, of course, left them stuck at the lake, by themselves. Which, Randi thought, was quite the hazard. The ice had thinned because the winter wasn't as cold this year. So did they get extra help to keep the guests off of thin ice, or a sign or some rope to help make the boundaries clearer? Nope! It was just her, Kendall, Kim, and Aaron all trying to man the entire lake by themselves. Randi had to keep a sharp eye out to make sure no guests were skating that close to the thin ice, and she had to be quick to reach them if they were pretty far. Thankfully, the crowd was a lot thinner here due to the contest happening in the plaza.

" _Hey! You deaf, stupid or both? I'm trying to talk to you!"_ Came Cloe's voice from the walkie talkie she had strapped to her belt. She tried to ignore her the last few shouts, but her common sense reminded her that ignoring her boss, no matter how bratty she was, was probably not a smart thing to do.

"What is it, Cloe?" she asked not bothering to hide her apathy.

" _Why aren't you, Kendall, and Kim at the Plaza helping with security?!"_ Ah, another stipulation of having the boss hate you. She assigned you to random jobs and didn't bother to tell you until the very last minute.

"Sorry, Cloe nobody told us we had to be there." Randi said not sounding sorry at all.

" _That is not my problem! You need to be there five minutes ago!"_ Randi took a deep breath to calm the rage underneath. She really hated this brat.

"Very well then. Let us close the lake so we can-"

" _Nu-uh! You are not going to inconvenience our guests like that! The lake stays open!"_

"You're kidding right? There's thin ice-"

" _Not my problem! You three need to be at the Plaza_ and _the lake needs to stay open! Is that understood?!"_

"Not your problem?! It very well should be your problem! If a guest falls through the ice-"

" _Hey! I'm leaving Aaron there to manage things! You should be happy about that! At least he knows how to handle things, unlike you, Ms. I'm-late-to-every-job-ever!"_ Again, not her fault when Cloe kept changing schedules without telling her.

"Cloe, I know you think you shouldn't listen to us lowly employees, but you really should-" She was getting tired of being talked over.

" _Don't! You! Dare try to tell me what to do! I'm the boss, and_ you _listen to_ me _! Keep the lake open! Show up for guard duty! And don't you_ dare _sass me again or I'm telling Daddy!"_ She turned off her walkie talkie leaving Randi to glare at the device in her hand.

" _Man! I really wish I could say what I thought of her, but I'm around children right now."_ Kim's voice said through the speaker.

"You're telling me, and it seems like I'm still the favorite." Randi said letting every ounce of frustration be heard through her voice.

" _We're really not going to leave the lake open are we?"_ Aaron asked.

"No! I don't care what Miss Priss says. We are not going to endanger the lives of our guests for her ego. Aaron, buddy, I hate to do this to you, but can close up the lake? If we want a chance to keep our jobs after this, then Kendall, Kim, and I really need to be in the Plaza ASAP." Randi asked and started toward the edge of the lake.

" _That shouldn't be a problem. There aren't too many guests on the ice right now."_ He answered.

"Thanks, dude! You're a lifesaver."

-line break-

Six skated with the most confidence she had felt the entire week. Sure she started off a little bit scared, but the more practice she got, the less scared she felt. She felt more and more like the beautiful snow princess she imagined herself to be.

Three skated around himself, and watched Six, just to make sure she was doing okay. He was still worried about the thin ice, especially since Six didn't really pay attention to where she was going once she got in a trance. Thankfully the employees seemed to be right on top of that, and always caught her before she skated out to the dangerous ice.

Six was going out pretty far, and Three stopped. That was the furthest he'd ever seen anyone go the entire week he was there, and he couldn't place why. His heart nearly stopped when he remembered that over there was where the thin ice was, and no employee had been there to stop her! Without hesitating, Three surged forward.

Six was brought out of her trance by the sound of the ice below her creaking. She stopped and looked at the ice in confusion. In the week she had been there, the ice had never made a sound like that.

"SIX!" Six turned around to see her brother looking at her with the most panicked look she had ever seen.

"What's wrong, Three?!" She called back, and was about to move when the ice creaked again when she shifted her weight.

"Don't make any sudden movements! You're on thin ice!" Three yelled back, and Six's heart stopped for a second. Thin ice? What happened to the employee that was supposed to stop her? She started to breathe fast as panic set in.

Three watched as Six's expression went from confused to horrified in a matter of seconds. She looked so scared and helpless, and Three's big brother instincts kicked in. The ice was making sounds Three didn't like, and he wasn't going to risk his sister's life as they waited for help. He had to get her out of there. Pushing down his fear, he stilled his face into what he hoped was a determined look.

"Stay right there! I'm coming to get you!" he called out, and glided as carefully as he could out onto the ice.

He ignored it's groans of protest and made his way over to a petrified Six. He heard a loud crack, and the ground shifted. With a burst of adrenaline he stepped off the edge of the ice that broke. He looked behind him and saw the ice continuing to break behind him, effectively separating them from the safety of the thick ice. So much for skating back to safety. He had read about jumping, but didn't want to risk either of their lives jumping on thin ice. Especially since they both were so inexperienced. He only had one solution in mind now, but it only ensured one of them getting to safety. Thankful that he read so much about surviving in freezing water, he turned back to Six, who had tears in her eyes.

Six saw their only escape closing off, and she felt like crying. She did this to them. If she had just payed attention to where she was going, then they wouldn't be in this mess.

"I'm sorry, Three! This is all my fault!" Six wailed, and let the tears flow.

"Hey, hey. No it isn't. The employee should have been there to stop you. You were just having fun." Three said in a calm, comforting voice, making her stop. Three didn't look angry, nor did he look scared. Instead he looked like the kind older brother he was.

"Listen, I know it's scary, but I'll get you out of here. Do you trust me?" he asked, his expression never changing. Feeling a little better having Three there, she nodded. She did trust him. Three knew a lot about a lot, and if anyone could get them out of this mess, he could. She nodded, and held back the rest of her tears. This was no time to cry.

"Good. Now keep your eyes on me, and slowly skate this way." Three said in that same comforting voice. Swallowing back her fear she gingerly started making her way over to Three, who was smiling and calling out encouragements. Normally, this would be weird, but right now, it gave her the confidence she oh so desperately needed right now.

She stopped when the ice started creaking again and glanced down with wide, fearful eyes.

"No, no, no. Don't look down. Look at me, and keep going. You're almost there." Three's soothing voice called out. She looked at him and saw that he was right. She was almost within reaching distance. Taking a deep breath to try and slow her racing heart, she pressed onward, and nearly collapsed in Three's arms in relief.

Three looked at his brave sister, and gave her the biggest smile he could muster. He had to act fast, though. He doubted the ice could hold both their weight much longer. He just needed her to understand one thing in case he didn't make it.

"Six, I need to tell you something really quick before I get you out of here." Three saw her look at him in confusion, and he ignored the sound of ice creaking below their feet.

"I love you, and the rest of our family so much." He said. He grabbed her by her waist, and threw her toward the safety of the thick ice as hard as he could just as the ground gave way below him.

 _COLD! COLDCOLDCOLDCOLDCOLDCOLD!_

Three tried to stop himself from inhaling, but was caught off guard by just how cold he suddenly was. He choked on the freezing water as it poured through his mouth and nose into his lungs. It was so very, very cold. He tried to move his limbs to push himself toward the surface, but they felt like they were being weighed down by very large stones. His mind grew fuzzier, and fuzzier by the moment and his panic faded into a weird calm. In the back of his mind, he knew he failed at what he intended. He read a lot about cold shock, and how you had to fight the urge to inhale the moment you were submerged in freezing water. He just wasn't prepared enough. Now he had to rely on the hope that he could be found, and revived in time. Which, from what he read, gave them about an hour since the cold would preserve him. His last thought before he faded into blackness what that he hoped Six was okay.

-line break-

Six landed on the safety of the thick ice with a grunt. Three threw her just as the ice gave way. He got her out, but at the cost of his own life.

"THREE!" She cried out, ignoring the pain in the shoulder she just landed on, she sat up and saw chunks of ice bobbing up and down in the waves her brother cause when he fell through. He was down there! She almost was, and he saved her! Her own brother could be dying right now, and it was all her fault!

"Miss! You can't go in there!" A guy in a uniform stopped her, and she fought the urge to push him in down.

"My brother is down there because no one was here to stop me from going out onto thin ice! I'm not going to let him drown!" She yelled at him, and tried to go toward where she last saw Three. Except that she was stopped by more than just the man this time. It seemed all of the adults that were with the kids were trying to keep her from going in too.

"I know it's tough, but you aren't going to help him by drowning too. I've already called in help, they're getting here as fast as they can. Just please, wait until they get here." He urged her, and she only relaxed the slightest bit.

Help was coming. Three wasn't going to be on his own, but who knows how long it could take for help to arrive. Maybe Three didn't have that long. She blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill over only for them to fall anyway. Three was drowning in freezing water, and all she could do was wait for help.

"It's going to be okay. We have a saying for things like this, "You're not dead until you are warm and dead."" Said one of the ladies keeping her from jumping in after Three.

"What does that mean?" she sniffed. It didn't make any sense. Dead was dead, right?

"It means he has a strong chance of being revived once they pull him out." Said the man in a gentle voice.

"You mean… he can still be saved?" Six asked no longer feeling quite so hopeless.

"Yeah. In fact there have been some cases where people have been drowned in freezing water for two hours before being brought back." The woman agreed, and Six felt much lighter than she had a second ago. But she was still scared for Three. What if they couldn't bring him back despite everything they were telling her? What if they did, and he died seconds later anyways? All of these worries started weighing her down once more. She looked at the ice where she last saw him.

 _Please come back to us, Three. We still need you._

-line break-

"Six!" cried several voices, bringing Six out of her morbid thoughts. She looked up from her position on the snowbank closest to where the rescue workers were searching for Three to fish him out, to see the rest of her family running up to meet her.

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"We were told something was wrong over here, but-"

"Where's Three?"

"Is Three okay?"

"-they wouldn't tell us what is was!"

Her siblings all gathered around her asking several questions at once, and it was too much for her frayed nerves. She started crying again, causing her sibling to panic more.

"Quiet! I am thinking Six is needing quiet!" Mom yelled over the monster's loud voices, and all turned to look at her.

"Th-thank you, mother." Six sniffed trying to calm herself down enough to fill her family in on what happened.

"Now, can you please be telling us what has happened here?" Mom gently asked after Six collected herself enough.

She started from the part where she skated out onto the thin ice, and ended where Three fell under after throwing her to safety. She waited while her family processed what happened.

"You mean, Three is…" One couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence. It couldn't be real. It just couldn't.

"Yes, but he still has a chance." Six explained quickly.

"How? If he's been under there this long, then…" Four also couldn't finish his sentence, and wiped away the tear that fell from his eye. Six then explained what the man, Aaron she found out his name, and a lady had told her about his chances of being brought back.

"So he still has a chance?" Two asked with a glint of hope in his eye. Six nodded, and a weight seemed to be collectively lifted from the family, before they all turned to watch the rescue team do their job.

"So, how long have they been looking for him?" asked Four after a minute of silence.

"About thirty minutes now." Six answered feeling as drained as she sounded. They all tensed at the amount of time they'd been searching, and became silent again.

After what felt like a long while, but was probably closer to five minutes, the rescuers all became extremely active. Apparently, they finally found him. Everyone watched tensely as they started to pull him out of the water. There were several sharp intakes of breath when they saw the lifeless lump that was their brother surface and got pulled onto the thicker ice. The rescue team then started to do CPR on him right there.

"It isn't right for him to be that still." Two mumbled and tried and failed to blink away the tears that were falling down his face.

"I know. He's supposed to be up and excitedly telling us about some random fact he found in a book. Not down there. Not like that." Four said choking back several sob as they continued to try and get Three breathing again.

Soon they saw Three jerk, and started to cough up the ice water that was trapped in his lungs. Everyone jumped and cheered at the sight of their brother returning to the land of the living. He was alive! Even as they saw the medics race to put him on a large gurney to hurry him away to the medical clinic, the monsters plus Mom couldn't help but feel a million times lighter than they had been just moments before.

-line break-

 _Cold! Still so very cold!_

Three shivered violently underneath a mountain of blankets as he sat in front of a fire. It didn't matter that he had on dry warm clothes, and it didn't matter how many blankets he had piled on, he was still very cold.

Be he was so thankful to be alive. He had hoped that they would get to him in time, and he was glad to see that hope was rewarded. Even though he would sacrifice himself to save his family in a heartbeat, he still wanted to live. He just hoped that his very near death experience didn't ruin the vacation for the rest of his family.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a knock at the door, and a nurse poked her head inside.

"Excuse me, Mr. Three? You have some visitors." She announced before opening the door all the way to reveal his family peeking in. He tried to smile, but all of his muscles were shaking so much that he wasn't sure if he succeeded.

The monsters saw their brother wrapped up in so many blanket, and was shivering uncontrollably. They all couldn't help the relieved smile to not only see him alive, but up. They all tried to go in at one, but like so many times before, it didn't work.

"One at a time being, Mushkas." Mom said, also with a relieved smile on her face. They all backed out, and came through the door one by one until they were all inside, hugging Three like he would disappear if they let go.

"Threeling, please never scaring your Mama like that again!" Mom said, hugging her ice cube of a son as tightly as she could.

"S-s-s-sorry M-m-m-m-m-mom. I-I-I-I D-d-d-d-didn't m-m-m-mean f-f-f-f-f-f-for-"

"Maybe you should talk to us after you've warmed up enough." One suggested, and Three nodded as best he could while shivering.

The family sat together, just enjoying the silent company of the one they came so close to losing. It took a while but Three's shivering finally reduced slight trembling instead of the violent shaking it once was.

"I didn't mean to scare you guys like that. What I was hoping for, was to hold my breath long enough for the cold shock to pass so I could work my way out of the water myself. But that didn't happen." Three said once he felt like he could talk without stuttering.

"What's cold shock?" asked Seven.

"It happens when the body becomes suddenly cold. The very first thing that happens is that you unwillingly inhale a bunch of air, or in my case, freezing water. I was hoping to force myself to hold my breath until the cold shock passed, but I just wasn't prepared enough for it." Three explained.

"So you knew what could happen, and you did it anyway?" Six asked, looking at him with sad eyes.

"I would rather the risk be on me, and I'd do it again if I had to." Three shrugged.

"Three, proud I am of you for protecting your sister, but please, no more risking your life. Mama's heart cannot be taking another scare like that." Mom said, patting blankets resting over Three's knee.

"I'll try to if I can avoid it." Three said with a small smile.

The tender moment was interrupted by six people walking in unannounced. Everyone looked up to see, a man in a fancy suit, a girl in expensive clothes, and four employees giving the girl in fancy clothes dirty looks. The four employees some of the monsters recognized as the four that worked at the lake.

"Excuse me, I pardon our rude intrusion, but as the owner of Rutherford Winter Resort, I would like to personally apologize for the incompetence of my employees for letting this happen. Rest assured, you will be compensated for your almost loss, and these four employees will face the utmost of consequences." He said, with a small glare at the employees who were still scowling at the girl.

"I told them leaving the lake open while they helped with the contest was a stupid idea, but they just never listen to me." The girl shook her head and tisked.

"Okay, no! I don't care if I'm fired, I'm not putting up with this anymore! The only reason this happened was because _she_ pulled us away from our posts! And, let me just add, _she_ was the one that wanted to keep the lake open! Not us!" Kendall said gaining three nods of agreement.

"You dare lie about my daughter about this?! I know you four like to get her into trouble, but this is low!" the owner all but growled at the girl, who refused to back down.

"Oh, please! If anyone in this room is a chronic liar, it's _her_!" Kim said pointing to the girl who looked like she was about to cry.

"Daddy!" she whined, and the man hugged his distressed daughter.

"Oh, it's alright, Pumpkin. These bullies and liars will get what's coming to them." He soothed the weeping girl.

"I-it's just so horrible, t-that they would blame me for their own m-mistake!" she cried and hugged her father back.

"Mr. Rutherford. I'm sorry, but I have to put my foot down on this. Your daughter is a liar, a bully, and a manipulator. She is the one who has been causing problems, and she is the one who blames us every time it happens. You can fire me for all I care. I'm not going to be her doormat for the rest of my working life." Randi said, and the other three nodded.

"And why should I believe you, when you have tried over and over again to get my poor Pumpkin into trouble?" Mr. Rutherford hissed at her.

"Because they haven't." A new voice said from the entrance. Everyone looked to see a redheaded nurse standing in the doorway.

"What did you say, Nurse Jones?" Mr. Rutherford asked in a tone of voice that suggested she be careful about her next few sentences.

"Maybe you should see what I mean for yourself. I've been recording walkie talkie conversations between Cloe, and these four employees." She said, and the employees smiled while Cloe paled.

"Very well then, I'll just go and see who is really in the right, and then, we're going to have a talk about this recording conversations deal." The nurse nodded, and the humans walked out of the room.

"Looks like daddy's little girl bit off more than she could chew." Four snorted.

"Hmph! If she is the one responsible for this, then I say she deserves it." One said not at all amused that one or more of those people nearly cost her, her brother.

"The employees weren't there, but I should have noticed where I was going." Six said looking downright ashamed of herself.

"Six, I told you, it isn't your fault. You were just having fun, and the employees stopped you every other time. I can see why you would expect them to do it again this time." Three said, finally feeling warm enough to remove one of his arms from the blanket cocoon to give Six a half hug.

"But I-"

"It's _not your fault_." Three stressed giving her a small squeeze before pulling his arm back under the blankets to warm up some more. Six still wasn't convinced, but she didn't argue.

Then an embarrassed looking Mr. Rutherford walked back in, alone this time, and cleared his throat.

"I apologize again. It turns out my daughter _was_ responsible for this. I'll make sure she receives the proper punishment for this, and you will be fully compensated. Good day." He said in a rush, and walked back out.

"We'd better get something for our trouble. The nerve of that guy sticking up for-"

"It isn't mattering anymore, Four. Three is still living, and that is all we are needing." Mom said, giving Three another hug.

"You said it."

"Couldn't agree more."

"Five loves Three!"

"Please don't scare us like that again!"

"We don't know what we'd do without you."

" _We love you_!"

Each of his siblings joined in the hug, and Three was the warmest he felt all day having his family hug him. He gave them all the biggest smile he could muster. Yes, this was his family, and he hated scaring them so much, but there wasn't anything in the world he wouldn't do for them. And he had a feel they felt the same towards him.

"I love you too."


End file.
